Regulation tops risk managers’ concerns

Regulatory risk is seen as the most significant threat to business and a greater source of concern than country risk, market and credit risk, terrorism and natural disasters, a recent survey reveals.

Nine out of ten executives expect the business costs of regulation to rise over the next three years, and most believe the cost of compliance is passed on to customers, according to a global survey of 230 senior risk managers by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Over a third of risk managers believe regulation has stifled innovation in their companies, and roughly the same proportion fear their firms will become less competitive compared with rivals operating in less-regulated countries, the